I managed to wash my husband’s key fob the other day and kill the thing dead. I did try drying the insides out and changed the battery but it is dead. I see that Costco has a mobile key replacement service that will be coming to our store in a few weeks. Has anyone used them? Any idea of the cost? The dealer cost is crazy. I know Amazon also sells fobs and then you take it to a locksmith. I just thought the Costco truck sounded like an easy way to go. Thanks!
I don’t know about Costco, but I will share my story…
My son lost his key fob, and I didn’t want to give him the last “good” one, so I went to a hardware store that made them for less than the dealer. Fast forward some amount of time (months, not years, and I think it was actually weeks) and I wound up driving something like 5 hours each way to a beach town in the summer to give my son the “good” one. The other one stopped working.
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18 months ago I lost my keys and fob and I bought a replacement here. Discount Car Key Replacement – CarandTruckRemotes I had to take it to a locksmith, but it was a lot cheaper than the dealer. They still both work great and I still use them even though I found the old ones a couple of months later.
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Anyone with a car that uses a key fob - before you panic if you have a dead battery or non-working fob, check your owner’s manual or the internet. I’ve never come across a car that couldn’t be entered and operated with a dead key fob. The keyless-start cars that I’ve been familiar with still have a physical key in the fob itself (there’s probably a little button or latch to access it), and there should be a way to start the car (for mine, I have to insert the fob in a certain recess in the dash before I push the “start” button.
Obviously one wouldn’t want to do that on a permanent basis, hence the question about where best to get replacements, but as far as I know you’re never truly stranded (unless of course you lose the physical key).
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Not my 2024 Volvo. There is NO physical key that can be sprung from the fob, and there is no place to actually insert the fob. It just needs to be in the car.
I think this is becoming more standard.
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Are you sure? It’s usually inside the keyfob so not obvious. I have the Polestar which is the Volvo cousin and it has it in there but not obvious then the key fits right behind the drivers side door latch. It’s not obvious either.
Maybe only certain models?
Yes, 2024 Volvo key fobs include a detachable physical key blade that can be used to manually unlock the car if the battery in the fob is dead or in emergency situations; essentially, the key fob has a built-in physical key that can be pulled out when needed.
I just checked again. No. And there is no place to insert a fob in the car either. I’ll check again…but where exactly would I put this “key” if I even find it.
So…if I can get I to my car with this key…how do I then start the car…if the fob is dead.
You should be able to google your make and model and see whether it exists or not. I have an older Volvo and there is a little key in the fob. It’s not easy to get to, but it’s there.
Think it just unlocks the door but the design is identical to my car since their cousins. Correction. Read below
There is an inside sensor in your cup holder like mine to start the car. Place the key fob in that and the car will start
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They are at my Costco now. Lol. Places like Ace hardware also do this and worth a try and not expensive at all.
Thanks for the video. I wondered what that little key thing was for in the cup holder area. Now…off to find the key.
In my old Volvo it just popped out. This is a little less obvious!
Great info.
You know…I miss having an owners manual booklet.
We did have to replace a key fob in one of our cars. It was about $300. And they had to reprogram the one we still had as well. Got it at the dealer…
Same if I ever have to. I won’t tell you about software you can buy to do it yourself in like 10 minutes. Lol. We can take it to pm. Lol
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I have a hard copy of my manual but it is HUGE with an even larger entertainment manual.
I downloaded the PDF of the manual and then just Command F whenever I need to find something.
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They were at my Costco today too!
Car keys these days often have passive RFID chips that can be detected at very short range. At one point in time, these were for anti theft purposes, and the sensor was next to the ignition keyhole.
Now, with push button start with the key anywhere in the car (requiring power from the key battery), there is usually a designated place to put the key if its battery is dead, so that the passive RFID chip can be detected. This location should be documented in the owner’s manual.
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